MORRIS COuNTY — Representatives Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11) and Tom Malinowski (NJ-07) announced today that Zufall Health Center will receive an additional $118,000 in funding to help address the COVID-19 outbreak in New Jersey from the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2020. Representatives Sherrill and Malinowski supported a provision in the legislation to support community health centers across the country. Zufall will be able to use this funding to address screening and testing needs, acquire medical supplies, and boost telehealth capacity in response to COVID-19.
“Our community health centers are on the front lines of providing care in New Jersey,” said Representative Sherrill. “During my visit to Zufall’s Morristown location last year, I saw the critical role they play as a provider for the most vulnerable members of our community. With the COVID-19 outbreak, they are going to be providing services well above and beyond what we normally ask them to do. While this additional funding Congress provided is a great start, I know that more needs to be done to support our local community health centers that are the first point of contact for so many of our residents. I am currently on the phone every day with Zufall, along with other health care providers in our district, and am here to support their incredible work in any way I can.”
“I have seen firsthand the critically important care that Zufall provides to our community,” said Representative Malinowski. “This funding is a good first step in getting them the necessary resources to continue their work serving our most vulnerable populations during the COVID-19 pandemic, but I know it is not enough. I will keep fighting in Congress to ensure that they have the support they need as this crisis grows.”
“We are extremely grateful that the federal government has recognized the role that community health centers are playing in our current crisis and for the distribution of these additional funds,” said Eva Turbiner, President and Chief Executive Officer of Zufall Health Center. “Clearly the critical health and financial circumstances we see now will be on-going and we remain committed to serving the needs of our community. We are already hearing from people who have lost benefits due to job layoffs. As we saw during the financial crisis in 2008, the demand for high quality affordable health services will increase after the initial phase of this public health crisis. Community health centers will need long-term funding to be able to meet the increased demand for our services.”
Zufall is a Federally Qualified Health Center with eight locations throughout New Jersey that served 40,000 patients in 2019. Zufall helps serve vulnerable populations in New Jersey: Ninety percent of their patients have incomes below 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines, and roughly half of their patients are uninsured, while the other half rely on Medicaid or Medicare.
